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I just ordered a few bottles of the 2007 Tzuba Metsuda from an online store and when I opened the box I saw that it was the 2009 (the website makes no mention of the right to make vintage substitutions). Is this something I should make a fuss about? Has anyone tasted both vintages and have an opinion if one is better than the other?

I think the 2007 is a bit better, having had them both recently. That said, do not cry over the 2009 - it is a fine wine. If the 2007 is a true WOW (a- to A) wine, the 2009 is very close if not actually there as well. Both are big and bold, with the 2009 showing a bit of blue along with deep black notes, while the 2007 shows black, red and green notes.

Hi Steve - Despite much struggle, I've relegated this wine to a chunky near term drinking wine. This would suggest that, unless properly stored, the 07 would be in "drink now" mode. In theory, the winery is on the up and up, so subsequent vintages should have a good chance of being better, absent some kind of climate issue. Given that the grapes are sourced from essentially the same exact area as the Castel grape, I would be inclined to align my expectation with that of the results of the petit Castel. The 09 castels have received above average reviews, even better than 07, so I think you have a lot going for you. Enjoy it and please report back. The folks at the kibbutz are nice enough to deserve the accolades.

I very much enjoyed the 2009 Metsuda. Although the last time I tasted the 2007 was quite some time ago, from what I recall it was bigger, oakier and more fruity than the 2007 . While the 2009 is by no means subtle, I believe it is more so than the 2007, And I think the 2009 has more spice notes. As far as your concern about the drinking window, Rogov's drinking window was 2012-2015 and I believe David recently tasted it and said that it has another four years left in the tank.

Gabriel - with regard to your experience with accuracy of drinking windows, I'd love to hear some examples of where you've been impressed that a particular wine was spot on. I will in turn, provide some counter examples.

Adam M wrote:Gabriel - with regard to your experience with accuracy of drinking windows, I'd love to hear some examples of where you've been impressed that a particular wine was spot on. I will in turn, provide some counter examples.

Adam, I will provide 5 recent examples, 4 of which were wines that were past their drinking window in Rogov's book but were still drinking perfectly and one that was still far from it and yet was a bit past its peak:

The hits:

Binyamina Zinfandel Reserve 2007: Until 2011 according to Rogov. Had it 2 weeks ago. Was great, at its peak but not past it.

Ella Valley Muscat 2006: Until 2011. Had it about a month ago with Dave Raccah, he can testify that the wine is not going anywhere anytime soon. Really nice and surprisingly rich and complex.

Tishbi Estate Merlot 2005: Until 2010. Had several bottles in 2012 that were all in perfect drinking conditions though at their peak.

GHW, Yarden Blanc de Blancs 1998: Until 2007. Had it in March 2012 and was drinking beautifully.

The miss:

Binyamina, Avnei Hachoshen Diamond 2007: Until 2016. Was a bit past its peak, drinking fine yet but not for further cellaring.

Adam M wrote:Gabriel - with regard to your experience with accuracy of drinking windows, I'd love to hear some examples of where you've been impressed that a particular wine was spot on. I will in turn, provide some counter examples.

Adam, I will provide 5 recent examples, 4 of which were wines that were past their drinking window in Rogov's book but were still drinking perfectly and one that was still far from it and yet was a bit past its peak:

The hits:

Binyamina Zinfandel Reserve 2007: Until 2011 according to Rogov. Had it 2 weeks ago. Was great, at its peak but not past it.

Ella Valley Muscat 2006: Until 2011. Had it about a month ago with Dave Raccah, he can testify that the wine is not going anywhere anytime soon. Really nice and surprisingly rich and complex.

Tishbi Estate Merlot 2005: Until 2010. Had several bottles in 2012 that were all in perfect drinking conditions though at their peak.

GHW, Yarden Blanc de Blancs 1998: Until 2007. Had it in March 2012 and was drinking beautifully.

The miss:

Binyamina, Avnei Hachoshen Diamond 2007: Until 2016. Was a bit past its peak, drinking fine yet but not for further cellaring.

Best,

GG

Hi Gabriel - cleaning up my to-dos before Pesach and I belatedly realized that I hadn't yet provided an in-kind response to your post:

In MY OWN experience, and as much as I hate to say this (as much as I have invested in them), the primary under-achieving winery according to Rogov's general assessment of drinking windows are the Yarden wines, particularly the single vineyard series. Numerous bottles of the '06 Tel Phares syrah have already shows signed of deterioration. As was an 07 Yonatan syrah that I opened this past Shabbat. Ditto on the 05 Tel Phares merlot. Ditto on an '05 cab that I tried to enjoy two weeks ago. Even the 04 El Rom, which I've had in my Eurocave since I purchased it fresh upon arrival, seemed to be barely holding on to its peak. So my personal view is the Rogov might have WAY overstated the cellaring ability of these wines. And not everyone has a Eurocave... I have also been disappointed in the lasting power of the 06 Recanati Special Reserve. The last two bottles that I have had over the last few months have showed signed of bitterness.

If folks think this topic is interesting enough to make its owns thread, I can do a deeper dive into my mental notes and come up with numerous other examples.... My overall very general assessment is that the vast majority of kosher wines (there clearly are exceptions to this), even the "well made" and/or expensive ones, do in fact improve 1-3 years in the bottle, but really not much longer than that. And once the wine stops improving, I have found that period during which the peak condition is maintained to be far less than the level at which my expectations had been set by Rogov with his drinking windows.

Adam - I think you should move your post to another thread as I am sure many folks have what to contribute to this. I will add more later, but in the interim will point out that bottle of the same wine (the Recanati SRs come to mind) that I purchased in Israel, brought over by myself and stored have shown much better and lasted longer than many of the same bottles purchased here and then stored. The Yarden SVs are another prime example. If we could be a fly on a crate of SVs from the winery until it hits the retailer here, I am not sure we would be pleased...

Just for an example, I have enjoyed Yarden CS 1999 and 2000 recently (although the quality of the regular version took a nose dive starting in 2001 when they introduced the SV series and started cannibalizing the good fruit (forget about years like 2008 when they needed the best fruit for the Elrom, Rom AND Katzrin)...

My Recanati SR 2003, 2004 and 2005 all showed nicely in the last 12 months as well.